World Music CD Reviews Celtic & Irish

Boasting the talent of Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Liam O'Flynn and Andy Irvine, the original, early '70s lineup of Planxty was nothing short of a traditional Irish supergroup. Alongside contemporaries like the Bothy Band, the group incorporated new sounds and ideas into Irish music, inaugurating a new era. Their first-rate songwriting set new standards that left the "come-all-ye's" of previous generations in the dust. Though the original band was plagued by a constant erosion of original members until they disbanded in 1981, this collection selects cuts from their three groundbreaking 1970s albums, and there's not a dud in the lot.